Romania apprehends Most Wanted former mayor and hundreds of Schengen fugitives

Romanian authorities have successfully apprehended several individuals through international police cooperation. Ionel Onofraș, a 68-year-old former mayor of Iași who was listed on the “Most Wanted” list, was extradited from Italy to Romania. He is serving a sentence of 19 years and four months for crimes including rape and continuous sexual assault against four minors.

In a separate large-scale operation involving the Schengen Information System (SIS), Romanian police identified nearly 500 individuals wanted within the Schengen area during a seven-day period from August 7 to August 13, 2026. The operation resulted in the identification of 631 total persons, 52 vehicles, and 107 documents flagged in Schengen databases. Among those found in Romania, police executed 19 European arrest warrants and identified 37 individuals with entry or stay bans.